LUKE CROSBIE is relishing the ferocity of competition for a place in the Edinburgh back-row this season after his try-scoring display in Saturday’s defeat to Benetton.
Richard Cockerill’s men fell to an 18-16 defeat in rain-soaked Treviso to put a dampener on their otherwise impressive start to the Pro14 campaign.
Crosbie, who has played every minute of Edinburgh’s season so far, provided the highlight of his team’s evening by finishing off a superb team try that started inside their own 22.
The openside also made 17 carries and 17 tackles to continue his impressive form, but he will soon face increased competition for a starting role.
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Scotland stars Jamie Ritchie and John Barclay return to training this week, while Hamish Watson could be back from injury in December, but Crosbie plans to let his rugby do the talking before Cockerill’s selection headache kicks in.
“I don’t think too far ahead or too much about who is going to be back on the scene,” he said.
“I just go out there, play my game, know my detail and get stuck in. Hopefully I keep getting picked and playing well but I’ll see what happens and where it takes me.”
Crosbie was called into Scotland’s Six Nations training squad for the Six Nations earlier this year, but is yet to earn his first cap.
“Obviously I’d like to (play for Scotland), but you can’t think too far ahead,” he said.
“I’m enjoying my rugby right now. It’s a great club and bunch of boys, we’ve got a good thing happening here.”
The 22-year-old will have done his chances of international recognition no harm with his first try of the season, which had an element of good fortune to it.
Mark Bennett’s attempted grubber kick came back off a Benetton defender into Crosbie’s hands and the flanker wasted no time in powering to the try line.
“I was ready to clear that ruck for Bennett and the ball popped up in my hands so as soon as I got it, I just got my head down,” he said.
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“I was really happy to get on the ball, but luck was on my side with that one. I’ll happily take it and tell everyone that I ran in from the halfway line.”
The defeat saw Edinburgh slip to fourth in Conference B, five points behind leaders Munster, but Crosbie believes that there is much more to come from his side this season as they look to implement a more free-flowing style.
“The strategy has changed a little bit,” he said.
“We want to play a bit more but that’s not changed our game, we’ve still got a solid platform from our set piece.
“We can go to work from that, our pick-and-gos in the 22 zone, the strategies of exiting well, we’ve got the building blocks there but with those we’re able to touch on our attacking game a bit more.
“We’re not going away from what worked for us last season, just working hard on doing the basics well.
“When we get that turnover ball we want to play and carve teams up. But we still have that solid platform we can rely on, our detail with kicking and putting pressure on teams. I think we’ve got the best of both worlds.”
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